so I thought today as it’s the season of entertaining I’m going to share with you how to make the
perfect vol au vents with 3 delicious fillings a chicken based one with mushroom and a lovely
creamy sauce, a seafood one slightly more sophisticated with saffron and don’t worry
if you are vegetarian I’ve got the perfect option for you as well butternut squash roasted
with ras el hanout so a lot of middle eastern flavours to it and some quinoa added to it
that recipe will make six individual vol au vents it’ll be perfect size for a starter
or if you’re having a cocktail party and you just want a little nibbles you can probably
make up to twelve mini versions of it we start with the puff pastry of course you can make
your own which is absolutely perfect but it does take time and it’s quite a tricky part
to make I’m more than happy for myself or yourself to buy shop bought puff pastry so
let’s crack on with the recipe roll it like so, so this is the perfect thickness 3 mm
time to cut our vol au vent so you will need 2 cutters one of that size and you need a
smaller one for the middles I’m gonna cut my plain disc so I place them on my baking
tray so egg wash is basically just beaten eggs that will give your vol au vents a lovely
glossy finish which will make them much more appetising now ready for our second layer
so same cutter and I’m just gonna cut if you need to roll some more pastry you have to
remember you can’t use the trimming because you will lose all those layers again and now
it’s time to use our smaller cutter so I’m just gonna cut the center off just gonna remove
this gently and place it on top here we are my final one there are now ready to go into
the oven preheat it at 200 degrees Celsius if you work on Fahrenheit that’s 392 degrees
Fahrenheit they should take between 15-20 minutes when they are all puffed up when they
look glossy and yummy and golden time to pull them out let’s crack on with our filling the
first filling I’m gonna make is chicken and mushroom I’m going to start in my warm pan
here to melt 30 grams of unsalted butter when the butter is almost melted I’m going to add
one chopped onion I’m now adding three chicken breasts chopped into cubes and I’m going to
cook them for around 6 minutes until they are cooked right through next 70 grams of
chopped mushrooms and just for extra flavour some fresh thyme and finally a glass of white
wine so now I’m just going to reduce the heat keep it on a low heat and I’m gonna cook it
very gently for 10-12 minutes until the sauce is completely reduced and the mushrooms are
perfectly cooked and after that I will be making the traditional bechamel sauce I’m
going to melt 60 grams of unsalted butter when the butter is melted I’m going to add
40 grams of plain flour so I’ve got the flour and the butter together into my pan now and
I’m just going to cook them together until I get a nice thick paste now I’m going to
add 480 mils of whole milk a little bit at a time and for a boost of chicken flavour
I’m going to crumble into my sauce half a cube of chicken stock now the rest of the
milk can go inside and here we are this is ready this is your classic bechamel sauce
you can see its glossy it’s smooth not a lump in sight only one thing to do now is to gently
fold my chicken and all the sauces into the bechamel sauce just for a touch of colour
and taste as well I’ve got some chopped parsley here so this is ready to go looking fantastic
but let’s get on now for recipe number 2 for the seafood mixture so in my pan here which
is nice and warm I’m just going to melt 25 grams of unsalted butter I’m just going to
add to that 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 8 chopped mushrooms I’m just going to coat
all those lovely soft mushrooms and garlic with a tablespoon of flour I’ve got 225 ml
of fish stock 110 mil of single cream and I’m going to add to that a little secret ingredient
typical to the south of France half a glass of Pernod that’s gonna bring a lovely aniseed
flavour to our final sauce so 2 more ingredients for a little bit of crunch I’ve got 1 leek
that has been finely chopped and one of my favourite spices a good pinch of saffron so
it’s time to add the star of the show the seafood I decided to go for some large prawns
I’ve got some cod I’ve got some salmon and just for a smokey flavour I’ve got some smoked
haddock as well I’m just going to add 450 grams of this seafood mixture to the sauce
and I’m just going to leave them to cook slowly for 6-8 minutes on a gentle heat I’m just
going to add 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley just to bring a bit of freshness to this rich
mixture well I have to say the seafood mixture is smelling absolutely gorgeous so let’s go
for filling number 3 the vegetarian option now first of all I’ve chopped up 320 grams
of butternut squash into big chunks and I’m just gonna roast it with a good splash of
olive oil sea salt I got some cumin seed in here I’m just gonna give it a good sprinkle
so this is ready to go in my oven to roast for roughly 15-20 minutes just check it out
with a knife we want them to be soft but at the same time we want a little bit of bite
we want some texture into our vol au vents when everything is put together the oven temperature
should be 200 degrees celsius I’m just going to melt 25 grams of unsalted butter I’m just
going to add 250 grams of cooked and dry quinoa and lentils to the butter and now I’m going
to cut my butternut squash into pieces to combine all the ingredients together I added
500 grams of greek yoghurt but just to boost that middle eastern theme I’ve got one of
my favourite spices from the middle east 2 tablespoons of ras el hanout which is a mixture
of paprika cumin cinnamon and rose petal and finally for a touch of colour and flavour
I’ve got some fresh greek basil here using siscors I’m just gonna chop it in, well time
to plate our vol au vent and I just warmed them up a little bit more in a hot oven for
10 minutes so they’re nice and hot but first of all we need to trim the lid so you need
a very sharp knife you just use your knife and gently cut a little lid which is in the
middle there just very carefully lift off the the little lid keep it aside time to fill
our little beauties with the chicken one the chicken is so succulent and the freshness
from the parsley coming through it just works so well together the seafood for me this one
is my favourite I love the saffron really giving that kind of like south of France tasting
and if you are vegetarian don’t despair we’ve got this special vegetarian filling here made
with roasted butternut squash with cumin and some serious middle east va-va-voom all these
lovely hot spices coming through making it so morish and here we are this is the ultimate
savoury and glamorous baking delicious thanks Food Tube for having me on your channel and
sharing this delicious recipe with your viewers and of course don’t forget to subscribe to
my own channel if you love baking every Monday it’s a baking mad Monday!
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